Editorial: Fatalities even, but heroin epidemic as bad as ever

For the second consecutive year, overdoses caused by drugs or alcohol took the lives of 48 individuals in Carroll County.

While there is nothing to celebrate about the loss of 48 lives, there is, perhaps a slight glimmer of a silver lining that, for the first time since the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office began tracking overdose deaths in 2012, the number of lives lost did not exceed the previous year. (Although, admittedly, that could change pending the outcome of toxicology reports from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in a few cases.)

Unfortunately, other data doesn’t seem to be following suit. A trend that isn’t leveling off is the total number of overdoses, both fatal and nonfatal. There were nearly 100 more total drug and alcohol overdoses last year — 510 total, per sheriff’s office data — than in 2016. Overdoses related to heroin were similarly up, with 240 versus 192 the year prior. The number of deaths caused by these cheap synthetics, used by dealers to cut their product and offer a supposedly greater high, also continue to climb. There were at least 18 deaths caused by fentanyl last year.

What this means is while efforts to keep people from dying seem to be working, a short-term “win,” of sorts, big picture efforts focused on the long-term haven’t quite begun to show signs of effectiveness, a testament to how powerful the grip of addiction really is. The heroin epidemic in Carroll County, and across the country, is as bad as ever.

Equipping law enforcement, first responders and civilians with opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, has obviously kept more people alive. Sheriff’s office data indicates police used naloxone 45 times, but does not include doses administered by EMS providers, firefighters, medical personnel or ordinary citizens.

Another new initiative, demonstrated earlier this month when the Health Department issued an alert of four fatal overdoses in a span of 48 hours, is the use of real-time data generated by the recently created statewide Opioid Operations Command Center. The alerts serve to warn of a potential outbreak of drugs laced with synthetic opioid fentanyl and its even more potent cousin carfentanyl. The idea behind the alerts is to not only warn users of dangerous drugs,but also to allow health and emergency responders to be on their toes to respond to a potential outbreak of a so-called “bad batch.” Whether this effort leads to more lives saved remains to be seen.

Initiatives that help stabilize the number of fatalities is a good thing, but isn’t addressing the root issues of addiction and how to break the cycle.

Politicians at the federal and state levels continue to make overtures about helping address issues of addiction, but more effort needs to be put into making treatment beds available, and quickly. Carroll has implemented a number of efforts to meet people at their lowest in an effort to convince them to seek treatment.

While there is no legislation that can force people to help themselves, making sure that there are sufficient options available when a person decides they are ready to accept help, making it easy for them to quickly transition and get that help before they relapse and start using again is crucial.

Plenty is being done from an educational standpoint to convince young people not to get started with these dangerous substances and, likewise, efforts that have stemmed the number of resultant fatalities are showing their worth. Those endeavors should continue. But we must continue to work at meeting people with substance abuse problems where they are and making sure they can get the help the need if there is any hope of stemming the tide of this epidemic.